Gas-buoy.



PATENTED 0011 13, 1903. R. M. DIXON. GAS BUOY.

APPLICATION PILEDAPR. 16, 190-2.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N0 MODEL.

' WITNESSES:

UNITED STATES- Patented October 13, 1903.

PATENT ()FFICE.

ROBERT M: DIXON, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOB TO .SAFETY GARHEATING & LIGHTING COMPANY, 'A CORPORATION GAS-BUOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,119 dated October13, 1903.

Application filed April 16, 1902.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT M. DIXON, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of East Orange, Essex county, New Jersey, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Gas-Buoys, of which the followingis a specification.

My invention relates to gas-buoys, and has for its particular object toproduce gas-buoys of a new and improved construction. In employing theterm gas-buoy I desire to be understood as including all such forms ofbuoy as within the-limitations of the prior art may be the equivalenteither mechanically, functionally, or structurally of gas-buoys.

My invention is further designed to improve the details of constructionof buoys generally. In the accompanying drawings I have shown one formof buoy in which my invention is embodied, the same being shown as aspar-buoy and being the best form of my invention at present known tome.

In the drawings, Figure I shows the. general form and proportions of thebuoy, the lantern and cage being omitted. Fig. II is an elevation, on alarger scale, of the upper end of the buoy, showing the lantern andcage. Fig. III is a broken-away view on the same scale as Fig. II,showing the lower end of the buoy. Fig. IV is an elevation, on a stilllarger scale, of the extreme upper end of the buoy with the lantern andcage. Fig. Vis a horizontal section on the line V V of Fig. IV. Fig. VIis a broken-away detail view of the construction shown in Fig. V, thelantern-cage being partly opened and the filling and shut-0E valvesbeing shown in section, the section be ing taken on line VI VI of Fig.VII and being a developed section taken on the two planes at angles witheach other; and Fig. VII is a plan view of the upper end of thebuoy-body with the lantern and valves removed.

Referring forthe present to Figs. I, II, and III, the buoy-body is shownas consisting of a hollow middle section 01., preferably of cylindricalform, from which project hollow intermediate sections 12, of taperingform, terminatin g in substantially cylindrical hollow end Eerial No.103,12'7- (No model.)

sections 0. The various sections are welded to each other, and themiddle section a has shrunk thereon suitable hoops (1, provided withhoisting-rings c. On the uppermost of these rings at a suitable loop fis mounted, and at intervals along the body similar loops 9 g areprovided. These loops 9 and f serve as steps for the convenience of theworkmen who fill the buoys with gas and adjust the flames, it beingunderstood that the buoys are at times filled with gas from a tender insitu. Some of the steps g are carried upon suitable bands h,shrunk uponthe upper cylindrical end section,and others secured to bosses g, weldedto conical intermediate section b of the buoy. The lower end of the buoyis provided with a suitable shackle j, turning freely in a lug i,integral with a plate 7e,'bolted or otherwise suitably secured to thelower end of the buoy-body and forming the bottom thereof. The buoy-body is provided with an opening Z at the lower end, which opening isclosed by a suitable packed or gasketed plate m, constituting a falsebottom of the buoy and bolted or otherwise suitably secured thereto. Apair of standards or brackets o are mounted on a platform 0' on theupper end of the buoy-body and serve to support an apertured platform19, upon which the regulator casing or bodyq is mounted. The lantern isprovided interiorly with lenses r, which may be held in place bysuitable astragals r'." 3 represents the astragals of the lantern, whichserve to fix theglasses sin place. The astragals of the lens and of thelantern are in the same radial sections, by which term I mean toindicate that starting from the center of the lantern the radii passingthrough the astragals of the lens will also pass through the astragalsof the lantern, so that there will be as little interference with thebeam of light radiated as possible. It will also be noted that as theastragals of the lens and lantern are in line with each other theastragals of the lantern may be made thicker than those of the lenswithout interfering with the. beam of light. The glassware of thelantern and lens is surmounted by a suitable ring casting a, whichsupports draft-producing devices (not shown) which are inclosed by ahood t,

and an outer cap u, which are also supported from the said ring casting.v The lower end of the regulator-casing is provided with a suitablenipple l, to which a flexible metallic tube 2 is connected, which tubeis in fluid-conducting communication with a passage 3 in the buoy-head,which communicates with a lateral passage 4, communicating with anotherpassage 5, which receives gas from the interior of the buoy. A suitablepassage 6 is also provided in the buoy-head and communicates with afilling-valve 7. The shutoif valve 8 is adapted to be brought against aseat at the upper end of the passage 5, being manipulated from theoutsideby means of a key-stem covered by a cap 9.

The flexible pipe 2 serves to prevent the gas connections to the lanternfrom opening should the buoy pound against the bottom or a solid object,and the shut-oif valve 8 serves to shut off the gas from the lanternwhen it is desired to extinguish the light of the buoy. Normally,however, the buoys are designed to burn day and night, as they areplaced over ledges and other obstructions to navigation in exposedplaces. The lantern and its feeding and regulating devices are protectedfrom the impact of floating objectslogs, spars, and floating ice or thelikeby means of a suitable metallic cage. This cage may be described asfollows: Suitable uprights or brackets 10 are mounted on the upper endof the buoy-body and serve to support a base-ring 11. These uprightsserve to protect the regulator standards and the valves and pipeconnections. The lantern itself is inclosed within the upper part of thecage above the base-ring 11. The upper part of the cage is in two parts,the lower part consisting of inclined members 12, which are or may bemounted upon the base-ring 11 and united to and supporting at theirupper ends a ring 13. These members 12 are in the same radial sectionsas the astragals of the lantern, as will be clearly seen from the planview of Fig. V, so that they will be in the shadow cast by the astragalsof the lantern and will not obstruct the light and at the same timeefficiently serve to protect the lantern. The upper section of the cageis shown as consisting of a pair of rings 14 and 15, united by thecurved members 16, surrounding the hood of the lantern and efficientlyserving to protect the said hood.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, 1s

1. In a spar-buoy, the combination of a hollow middle section,taperingintermediate sections, and end sections, the said sections beingsecured together, closures for the end sections, a shackle secured tothe lower end of the said spar-buoy by fastenings independent of the endclosure, a gas-lantern mounted upon the upper end of the spar-buoy, anda protecting-cage for the said lantern mounted upon the said spar-buoyindependently of the said lantern, the lantern being adapted to havemovement under the stress of weather independent of the movement of thecage, and a flexible fluid-conducting connection intervening between thelantern and the sparbuoy.

2. The combination of a hollow buoy-body having end closures, a lanternmounted on the upper end thereof, of anchoring means for said buoy,embodying in its structure a shackle, a plate secured to the lower endof the said buoy independently of the gas-tight closure at the lower endof the said buoy and forming the connection between the shackle and thesaid buoy.

3. A lantern and cage structure adapted for use with spar-buoys,comprising a lantern having a lens, lantern-glasses surrounding the saidlens and having astragals, and a cage surrounding the lantern havingprotecting-bars, the astragals of the lantern and the protecting-barslying in the same radial section, whereby a minimum interference withthe beam of light radiated will be achieved.

4. The combination of a buoy, a lantern mounted thereon and receivinggas therefrom, a filling-valve for the buoy having an inlet to the buoyindependent of the gas-outlet from the buoy to the lantern, and aturn-oft valve located in the buoy in the gasway of the 'outlet to thelantern, the said turn-oi? valve having an operating portion extendingoutside of the buoy so as to be operated therefrom.

R. M. DIXON. Witnesses:

F. E. KESSINGER, GEO. E. MORSE.

